WAYNE, NJ—(Marketwired - June 13, 2017)—At the upcoming 4th Annual World Congress of Thoracic Imaging (WCTI), Konica Minolta Healthcare will showcase advancements in an exciting technology under development, Dynamic Chest Radiography. This new modality utilizes Konica Minolta's Digital Flat Panel X-ray Detector and proprietary data analysis software that has the potential to allow clinicians to assess anatomical and physiological information simultaneously, data not previously available from a conventional X-ray. The commonly performed chest X-ray can now serve multiple functions, without subjecting the patient to multiple tests.

Dynamic Chest Radiography is expected to represent an advancement in conventional digital X-ray by providing valuable information for clinicians to evaluate chest and lung function in patients with pulmonary diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and pulmonary embolism. According to the American Lung Association, more than 33 million people in the United States live with some type of chronic lung disease1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cites chronic respiratory diseases as the 3rd leading cause of death2, as well as predictions that by 2020, the cost of medical care for adults with COPD alone will be more than $90 billion3.

Konica Minolta is investing in the development of new clinical capabilities for existing systems, such as digital X-ray, that can deliver more information to clinicians for a confident diagnosis, lower costs and enhance patient safety. With Dynamic Chest Radiography, patient radiation exposure may be reduced compared to the advanced imaging systems currently utilized for lung perfusion and ventilation studies, such as nuclear medicine and CT.

A symposium, Dynamic Chest Radiography with a Flat Panel Detector System, will be held at the upcoming WCTI meeting in Boston. The symposium, moderated by Heber MacMahon, MB, BCh, Professor of Radiology and Director, Section Chief of Thoracic Imaging at the University of Chicago, features distinguished speakers Rie Tanaka, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiological Technology, Kanazawa University, who will present The Fundamentals of Dynamic Chest Radiography, Including Lower Costs and High Performance, and Hiroto Hatabu, MD, PhD, FACR, Medical Director, Center for Pulmonary Functional Imaging Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, who will discuss Technique and Clinical Usefulness of Dynamic Chest Radiography using a Flat Panel Detector System.

Dynamic Chest Radiography is ongoing research and development at Konica Minolta. It is not cleared by the FDA for commercial distribution or available for sale.

1American Lung Association, Every Breath You Take: State of the Air 2015, April 2015

2National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States 2015 with Special Feature on Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. Hyattsville, MD: US Dept. Health and Human Services; 2016

3Ford, E.S. et al., Total and State-Specific Medical and Absenteeism Costs of COPD Among Adults Aged > or = 18 Years in the United States for 2010 and Projections Through 2020. Chest. 2015 Jan;147(1):31-45